Ex-teacher Pleads Not Guilty To Fondling Student

April 2, 1989|By Pat LaMee of The Sentinel Staff

DELAND — A former Deltona High School teacher, who resigned last December after being accused of misconduct with a female student, has pleaded not guilty to charges of battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Assistant State Attorney Elizabeth Blackburn said the plea was entered Thursday by the attorney for John B. Caldwell, 32, Orange City.

Both charges are first-degree misdemeanors that carry maximum penalties of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Caldwell was not arrested on those charges; he was issued a notice to appear in court, Blackburn said.

A pretrial conference has been set for April 26 with a tentative date of May 8 for the trial, she said.

Caldwell has declined to comment on the complaint of a 16-year-old girl who told school and law enforcement officials that Caldwell had made improper remarks to her and touched her buttocks and breasts while alone with her in his office on Nov. 30.

In addition to fighting the criminal charges, Caldwell is contesting the findings of state Education Commissioner Betty Castor, who last month decided there were grounds to revoke Caldwell's teaching license.

Caldwell has asked for a hearing before the state Department of Administrative Hearings in order to argue for his right to continue teaching in Florida. No hearing date has been set.

He started working in 1986 at Deltona Junior High School and transferred last year to Deltona High. Former teaching supervisors in Hernando County and in Rome, Ga., said they didn't believe the allegations, saying ''Caldwell is a good man and above reproach.''